Meet Mrs Mebo Atsango, a mother of four (biological) and many (adopted) and a God-fearing lady behind Capstone Preparatory School, a Christian-based school for orphans which she co-owns with her husband Mr Julius Atsango. The two are also pastors at one of the churches in Eldoret, Cornerstone Assembly Church.

Growing up in a poverty-stricken home and being mistreated by her step-mother, she had a better understanding of how painful it can be to struggle to acquire an education without financial help and a good support system. She understood the obstacles orphans face and was determined to change the situation.

” These children have no mother or father to guide them, protect them, or love them. They are hungry, lonely, afraid, have holes in their shoes or no shoes at all, and face the greatest challenges of any children on the face of the earth. Unless adopted or absorbed by an orphanage, these children are left to wander the streets, beg or steal food, and find shelter wherever they can.”

How wonderful it is that nobody needs wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Mrs Atsango together with her husband started the school because they were moved with compassion for the many children who had no alternative help to pursue education. So, they put in place two programs:

Program 1: The children who were either from very poor backgrounds or orphans were able to get free education and free meal plans as long as they had a guardian/parent/relative that provided accommodation.

Program 2: Students who had parents who made about USD 1 per day and they were not able to pay school fees through the normal fee structures. The school hence accepted such parents to be given alternative payment arrangements which were most comfortable to them. One such payment is substituting school fees with the delivery of milk, vegetables or grains by the parents to the school. Services such as gardening, painting, carpentry, repairs and maintenance etc were also accepted in the payment plans

During her humanitarian work, Mrs Atsango realized that her love for the children was helping a less visible demographic.

Following the announcement of the Presidential elections winner in December 2007, there broke tribal violence in Kenya. Houses were burnt to the ground and people were violently killed. One of the burnt down houses was where Capstone Preparatory School started. The Atsangos leased the 2-acre piece of property which belonged to one of the post-election victims who had decided to relocate after his house was burnt down. They were compelled to sell their family car and these funds were added to their savings to establish the school. They quickly built Classrooms to accommodate at least 25 children per class. The school began with 11 Children in the month of March 2008 and the School grew to a population of 138 pupils by the end of 2008. The population has continued to grow and now it stands at a population 159 children.

In August 2017, Mrs Atsango was finally able to make a step towards making her dreams come into being. She welcomed her first 24 children who are totally orphaned from different rural areas in Kenya. These children were welcomed to make Capstone Preparatory School their home and The Atsangos their family. As at September 2017, the children have grown to be 26 (14 girls and 12 boys) between the ages of 3 years to 15 years.

No matter these children’s long-term goals, she hopes to help all of them realize their full potential. Raising children is a life time commitment to love, protect and provide for them. That’s why she’s calling upon good willing persons to help in taking care of the children through the provision of food items, clothing, medical care, monetary support and mentorship.

These are very real children who need your love and help. Not every person is able to adopt an orphaned child, but we can help in taking care of them.

“There is no force equal to that of a determined woman.” – LORNA JANE CLARKSON

Post Views: 1,395

Related

Comments

Subscribe to Shaboard Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Esther Wanja

Mebo Atsango

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

About Shaboard

Shaboard is a women and girls empowerment blog that shares stories about women in Technology, Women entrepreneurs and women in leadership and opportunities for women and girls to help them advance their lives.
Write to hello@shaboard.com to be featured on our blog.